Riley's Letters
by mynameisweird
Summary: As a proclaimed friend, he inherited the antiques that would be left behind by a grieving family. A shoe box full of letters sends Shikamaru Nara on a troublesome revelation on what killed a fellow hotshot athlete and the secrets he had sworn to take to his death. That is, if he can prevent himself from getting distracted by the new student. (Modern AU)


The circumference of the rink. The angle of the hit. The dynamic of the puck.

A typical x + y= f(3) bullshit he thought he would have to put off til the 11:30 class bell rang.

The sound of crunching interrupted the repeated arithmetic that began to sound like his mother. He winced at the brief slide of his hockey stick, steadying himself in a position that would be of no help in the rush hours of game day.

"You really need to eat them now, Choji." His senses were even stronger during these times of concentration He was sure not to only blame his best friend. The vibrate of the overhead ceiling, the crash of early locker doors, and the slick carvings into ice that had earlier been smoothed.

"Come on, Shikamaru," he had to bite back a grin at the soft whine, "Not my fault mom forgot to make breakfast. Not my fault Coach asked you to come in early for some needed practice."

Choji couldn't help but grin at the jibe, with a small amount of disappointment that his lazy friend couldn't muster a half-hearted glare in his direction. Shikamaru's eyes laid solely on the goal in front of his, knees bent and knuckles whitening from a tightened grip.

The arena echoed as vulcanized rubber hit strong plastic.

"Damnit."

Shikamaru shook his head at the offer of a chip as consolation.

"Might as well tell Coach I'm gonna get sick tomorrow." Shikamaru wiped the dripping sweat from his lip as he made his way off the ice, collapsing in the nearest bench as fingers untightened the uncomfortable laces. He didn't need to look up to see the arched brow of amusement and light annoyance on the chubby boy's face. It was clear he wouldn't have his friend giving the backup story of why he had decided to take a sick leave before the most important game of the year.

"Maybe you should ask Ino." Choji jerked back a bit at the stare given to him. Don't. You. Dare.

"I can hardly stand that girl in class. I wouldn't wish my worst enemy that pain."

"How about TenTen, then? You don't seem to have a problem with her."

Shikamaru shrugged at this suggestion. He knew if not TenTen, then maybe it would have been Hinata. The girl had taken a simple and useless role as water girl, but had keen eyes of observation when they battled their opponents. She could pinpoint inaccuracies and weaknesses, and she was close to voice them out loud if it wasn't for her cousin's glare or her numerous fainting episodes.

"Just leave it to Sasuke," the genius sighed with relief as the last padding from his arms and legs fell carelessly from his body, "His dad's gonna be there, right? We know he'll grab all the attention he can get."

Uniforms were clean of scrapes, blood, and sweat when athlete god Sasuke Uchiha took the field with is father's gaze upon him. There was hardly any time nor any pleasure to simply hand the puck to open comrades. He pushed and shoved his way to the goal without the slightest consideration of camaraderie that Gai had spoken of in his pre-game speeches.

"If we're luckier, Itachi too," Choji laughed excitedly. He couldn't help but create a mental list of what "nutritional dietaries" he would be able to shove down his _Konoha Rookies_ jersey without having a penalty warning whistled at him.

With this and the final padding in his arms, they headed toward the locker room and gave careless shoves of the equipment into the small closet.

"Hey Shikamaru! Choji!" Kiba grinned tiredly with a wave.

"What's up?"

"Coach says we've got a mandatory meeting after morning announcements. Pronto."

Choji arched a high brow at this. It was usual for Gai to hold meetings this early, and if it was it was mostly due to Sasuke and Kiba's unsportmanslike conducts or a change in positions they would execute in the arena. However, this only added more questions to the Akimichi. Coach Gai was a perfectionist, albeit a bit spontaneous. He would always change any sort of routine within a week in advance. If any sort of changes were made, the boy was sure that admitted favorite Lee had something to do with it.

"Lee probably has some new ideas," he sighed.

"Sucks for you, man," Kiba laughed as his hand slapped Shikamaru's back, "You better count your luck that Eyebrows is convincing him to sit you out."

It was exactly what the genius was thinking about. But hearing it from Kiba of all people…

"Shut it."

Pushing him aside, he headed toward the conjoined area where the team met. Ino and Sakura spoke quietly in a corner, but the looks on their faces spoke of a current argument that either involved weight or Sasuke. TenTen and Hinata had their eyes trained on the sheets of papers in front of them, with Neji looking over their shoulders with contemplation as well. Shino, as usual, hung beside the drawing board with his shaded eyes piercing the wall across from him. Lee sat up straight and in full attention despite their coach not being present and Kiba immediately rushed to the vacant beanbag as if someone would steal it before he did.

Both friends shrugged as they found a way next to Lee. It was useless to hold a conversation to a boy who seemed to be trained like an amateur soldier that was ready for attention at any given moment.

The harsh ringing in their ears alerted them to the speaker overhead. The brief ruffle that was heard was met with a cleared cough by their principal.

"_Attention, students."_

Silence. For about a minute if Shikamaru calculated correctly. He gave a gentle furrow of his dark brows. The woman was quick and formal in her announcements; to the point with them before wishing the students a great day and yelling at her assistant for more sake. What confidence there was, was lacked at that moment.

"_Today, I have received some heartbreaking news in concern of a fellow student."_

Hinata made a silent prayer despite the name being unknown.

"_Yesterday, at 12:00 midnight…"_

He was barely made aware of the soft pressure on his shoulder and Choji whisper of their captain's location.

"_Sasuke Uchiha's body was found in Lake Montough after his car smashed into the barrier of the bridge and fell into the water below. We have contacted the Uchiha family and they have asked for your prayers and to respect their privacy. Counselors will be available to students in need."_

A click signaled the end, and Shikamaru never detested anything more than the silence given. Slowly and unexpectedly, the sobs from his fellow pink and blond-haired teammates reached him with the sound of moist sniffs following obediently.

He figured he would revel in it for a short while.


End file.
